Longford holiday village on track for 2019 opening

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar planted an oak tree to mark the start of construction at the €23m Center Parcs Longford Forest holiday village in Co Longford yesterday.

He was joined by Center Parcs chief executive Martin Dalby, who described the occasion as a “key milestone” for the project, which promises 750 construction jobs and a further 1,000 permanent positions on completion in the summer of 2019.

Expressing his delight at the development on the 400-acre Newcastle Wood site, Mr Varadkar said the €200m investment, probably one of the biggest in the region, was transformative and hugely welcome, particularly in Longford.